Signs Your Resume Is ‘Old School’

A job search is not something many people do on a regular basis. Some professionals experience shorter periods of employment than others, but no one is really “practiced” in hunting for a new job. Some people have never had to actively look for a job, while others only find themselves hunting employment a couple of times over a decade. If it has been several years since you’ve had to use your resume, do not make the mistake of thinking you can dust off that old resume and use it for your new job. Resumes change according to the needs of employers, technology, and the condition of the market. A resume written even a few years ago may be out-of-date. A resume originally prepared a long time ago and only added to over the years is a dinosaur!

Do you have a resume that is "old school"? If so, you should consider having a new document prepared. Just as the advertising and marketing methods of companies such as Coca-Cola and Apple have changed over time, your resume must change, too. What worked in the 80’s, 90’s or even earlier this decade probably won’t work well in today’s job market.

GetInterviews.com has compiled the following list of signs of an "old school" resume.

Click through for signs of an "old school" resume from GetInterviews.com.

Your resume may be old school if “Confidential Resume of” is plastered at the top above your name. Such a header is unnecessary and redundant.

Your resume may be old school if you’ve included a fax number in your contact information. Think about this – why would an employer need this gem of information?

Your resume may be old school if you have an objective at the beginning. Objectives have fallen away and the use of a branding line and strong summary has replaced them.

Your resume may be old school if you detail your entire work history back to 1969. Employers are primarily interested in the most recent 10 to 12 years of experience. Unless something from the distant past has immediate significance, it probably has no beneficial place on the resume.

Your resume may be old school if hobbies and interests take up space on your resume. While interests may be fodder for small talk in an interview, they have no place on a resume, a document whose sole purpose is to win the interview. The fact that you like to scrapbook or fly fish is not going to encourage the employer to call you for an interview.

Your resume may be old school if it is one long list of bulleted statements. The use of bullets came into fashion when the word processor made them possible back in the 80’s. Bullets still have a role on a resume, but they should not start every sentence or line.

Your resume may be old school if you have included office machine skills such as “able to work a fax machine, copier, and postage machine.”

Your resume may be old school if you have a ton of experience, but you’ve crammed it all into one page because you think it is “supposed to be one page.” The “one page rule” is a myth!

Your resume may be old school if you have mentioned your spouse, your children, your age, or reasons you left past jobs in the resume or cover letter. None of this information has a place on a resume and may actually result in problems in your job search.